Will antibody tests for the coronavirus really change everything?

Will antibody tests for the coronavirus really change everything?



Limited global testing for coronavirus (yellow) has led researchers to try to estimate the prevalence of infection within specific communities. (CDC/Science Photo Library)

Antibody tests get mixed reviews

Dozens of biotech companies have scrambled to distribute antibody tests that tell whether someone has been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. These tests are being hailed as a game changer that could help to decide when to end controversial lockdown measures. But many tests developed so far have not been reliable. “No test is better than a bad test,” says infectious-disease researcher Michael Busch. (Nature | 8 min read)

Infections might vastly exceed official counts
Widespread antibody testing in a Californian county has revealed that the prevalence of coronavirus infections might be more than 50 times higher than official figures suggest. The results — which have not yet been peer reviewed — are some of the first of more than a dozen ‘seroprevalence surveys’ being carried out in cities worldwide to estimate true infection rates. But questions about the reliability of testing kits mean that the survey results might not be accurate. (Nature | 7 min read)

How research funders are trying to help
Researchers confined to their homes and unable to carry on with grant-funded work are becoming increasingly concerned about how the coronavirus pandemic will affect their funding. Nature spoke to the world’s major research funders to find out how they are adapting their funding policies. (Nature | 8 min read)

Coronavirus chemicals by ear
Do you know your lopinavir from your remdesivir and your chloroquine from your hydroxychloroquine? Catch up with a series of short podcasts about the chemical compounds being tested in the World Health Organization’s global SOLIDARITY drug trials (ritonavir is coming next week). (Chemistry World | Several sub-10 min listens).
Read the latest coronavirus news, continuously updated on Nature.

Read Nature’s continuously updated selection of the must-read papers and preprints on COVID-19.